Birte Nienaber

Birte Nienaber is Associate Professor of Political Geography at the University of Luxembourg, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, within the Department of Geography and Spatial Planning. She has been a core faculty member since 2013 and leads significant research and academic initiatives in migration, borders, and spatial development.

Her research focuses on geographical approaches to migration, border studies, and European regional development. Key areas include youth mobility, refugee reception centres, the Common European Asylum System, and spatial planning in cross-border regions like the Greater Region (Luxembourg, Germany, France, Ireland). She leads and participates in major EU-funded projects, shaping policy-relevant research across Europe.

Her recent publications reflect a strong trend in migration governance, border dynamics, and inclusive societies, with emphasis on EU policy frameworks and fundamental rights. She has led or contributed to Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects such as MIMY, MOVE, DERREG, CEASEVAL, RELOCAL, and INNOVATE, demonstrating sustained leadership in transnational research.

• Keynote speaker to six German-speaking heads of state (2017)

Prof. Nienaber advises national and European institutions, serves on monitoring committees for ESF+, AMIF, ISF, and BVMI, and leads policy-related projects for ministries in Luxembourg. She supervises the trinational Master in Border Studies and has directed continuing education programs in spatial planning. She is actively involved in grant leadership, including as Principal Investigator for multiple EU projects.

She coordinates Luxembourg’s contact points for the European Migration Network (EMN) and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRANET), and is a member of the steering committee of the UniGR Centre for Border Studies. Her work is deeply embedded in collaborative networks including IMISCOE and INTERREG VA Greater Region projects.